The Ambassador of Chile to South Africa, also serving as non-resident Ambassador to Angola, Botswana, Namibia and Mozambique, and Representative of the Republic of Chile to Southern African Development Community (SADC), His Excellency, Francisco Berguno Hurtado, presented his letters of credence to the SADC Executive Secretary, Her Excellency Dr. Stergomena Lawrence Tax in Gaborone, Botswana, on 6th September 2019.
H. E. Ambassador Berguno thanked Dr. Tax for the meeting and informed her that the Republic of Chile is already collaborating with the Republics of Angola, Mozambique and South Africa, in the field of education. Ambassador Berguno stated that Chile has special interest in SADC, and sees great potential for collaboration with other SADC Member States in a number of areas. Therefore, Chile was looking forward to broadening the partnership to include other SADC Member States.
H.E. Dr. Tax congratulated Ambassador Berguno for the appointment and welcomed him to SADC. She explained that SADC Secretariat is looking forward to enjoy cordial working relations with the Chilean Embassy, and with H. E. Ambassador Berguno.
The SADC Executive Secretary briefed the Ambassador on the two strategic documents guiding the direction of SADC, namely the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP), which guides on socio- economic integration, and the Strategic Indicative Plan for the Organ on Politics, Defense and Security (SIPO). She further stated that SADC values partnerships and engages with International Cooperating Partners in the implementation of its priorities as contained in these strategic documents, and the major focus of the region is industrialization of SADC economies.
Dr Tax noted that the Republic of Chile’s economy is fast growing, offering learning opportunities for SADC Member States, in areas such as macro-economic stability and private sector involvement in economic development. She further said, as the country has rich copper deposits, and with the region’s focus on industrialization, there was room for collaboration in the development of value chains and mineral beneficiation. The SADC Executive Secretary also noted that education is another potential area, in which the Republic of Chile and the Secretariat could explore for collaboration.
The two parties concluded by making a commitment to further explore potential areas of collaboration for the development and integration of SADC region.
